Retinal pigment epithelial cells can be cultured on fluocinolone acetonide treated nanofibrous scaffold

<p>Engineered tissue currently lacks requisite capacity to sustain cell viability and functionality. Here we demonstrate that human RPE cell lines (ARPE-19) can be cultured on ultrathin suspended electrospun nanofibre scaffolds (ENS) composed of hydrophobic polymer polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and a water-soluble aliphatic diamine, without (untreated) or with (treated) fluocinolone acetonide (FA). Cells survived and retained their characteristic morphology for up to 150 days with FA-treated ENS and manifested a morphological epithelial phenotype with expression of biomarkers critical for maintaining retinal physiological characteristics. This novel technique for producing culture substrates provides suitable hydrophilicity and a protective environment for prolonged RPE culture and has immense potential for subretinal transplantation. The findings indicate that FA-treated ENS is an excellent matrix for retaining the differentiated and epithelial phenotype.</p>